91 Dead in Norway Massacre; Heat Wave Claims Lives in U.S.

July 23, 2011

​The death toll from yesterday’s horrific violence in Norway is now reported to be 91, mostly from the youth camp shootings on Utoya island. At the camp, at least 84 people died, some as young as 16. The bombing in Oslo killed 7 and injured 90. Norwegian police have arrested a man in connection with the attacks, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, who appears to be be a right-wing, anti-immigration extremist; the attacks may have been politically motivated. Reuters calls the incident “deadliest attack by a lone gunman anywhere in modern times.” Officials haven’t ruled out the possibility that Breivik didn’t act alone.
At the youth camp, which is organized by the country’s ruling Labor party, most of the 700 people there were gathered after reports came in of the bombing in Oslo. It’s at that point that Brevik, dressed as a police officer, came on the scene and opened fire, according to reports. Terrified people jumped into the water, where Brevik shot many of them. An elite police squad managed to apprehend Brevik; details of his capture have not been released. The search for victims and survivors on Utoya continues. [NYT, Reuters, CNN]

The heat wave sweeping the U.S. has already claimed or is suspected to have claimed a dozen lives, including an 18-year-old landscaper in Louisville, KY. In New York, Con Ed set a record for power usage yesterday at 1 p.m. [MSNBC]

An 83-year-old man was killed and his wife injured in a fire this morning in their building on the Upper East Side. [DNA Info]

Maria Shriver’s panicked call to 911 after her son Christopher’s boogie board accident: “He just can’t move. He’s having trouble breathing.” Luckily, Christopher is expected to make a full recovery. [ABC]

Jesus, more shootings. A Brooklyn man is dead and a teenage girl was shot this morning in Brownsville; the man, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the 16-year-old is in stable condition. [NYP]

If you thought the weather was extreme here, consider the example of Southern Australia, where waterfalls are now flowing upwards. [NYDN]

Piers Morgan and British MP Louise Mensch continue their argument over Morgan’s possible involvement in phone hacking by taking shots at each other on Twitter. [SoupSoup]